Garnett Stokes Named Interim FSU President

Florida State University’s provost will become the school’s interim president. Garnett Stokes takes the helm of Florida State as current university President Eric Barron departs for Penn state.

Barron was appointed Penn State University’s new university president last month. Florida State University Trustees named Stokes to the interim position as the school begins a national presidential search.

Several names have already been tossed out as potential FSU presidential candidates, including some powerful lawmakers. Barron broke that trend at Florida State when he was appointed to the post in 2010 after former House Speaker T.K. Weatherell stepped down. But FSU Board Chairman Allen Bense—another former Florida House Speaker-- says there is no front-runner for the job.

Stokes, the school’s interim vice president, will have to be confirmed by Florida’s public university governing board. She has been at FSU since 2011 and was former dean of the University of Georgia’s College of Arts and Sciences.

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Florida State University will become the latest public institution to start a presidential search after its president was tapped Monday to head Penn State University as its 18th president.

Barron will be paid a base salary of $800,000—nearly twice as much as he makes now as president of Florida State. He’s also getting a $200,000 signing bonus and, if he sticks around for the duration of his five-year contract, he’ll earn another $1 million. During a Penn State Board of Trustees meeting Monday, Barron said he’s happy to be going back to the school.

Florida State University Board of Trustees Chair Allan Bense has released the following statement regarding President Eric Barron's possible departure: "We have received no official communication from anyone about this," Bense writes. "If it is true that Dr. Barron is leaving, it will be a great loss for Florida State University. But we would certainly wish him well in his new endeavor. He would be greatly missed."

Florida State University President Eric Barron, who confirmed over the weekend he plans to take the job, is set to be announced as the next president of Penn State University at a midday news conference.